NEC Electronics launches automotive business unit in Dallas

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- NEC Electronics Inc. here today announced it will open a strategic business unit (SBU) that will focus specifically on the automotive industry and will take advantage of U.S.-based manufacturing, design, marketing and application expertise to serve the North American automotive market.

"The formation of the Automotive SBU represents NEC's clear commitment to North American automotive manufacturers," said Paul Yasuda, senior marketing manager for the newly formed Automotive SBU, which is based in Dallas. "With U.S.-based marketing, applications and design support teams, NEC will be able to provide customers with the local support needed to meet the requirements of the fast-changing automotive industry."

In addition to microcontrollers, NEC also offers an extensive variety of power MOSFET devices to be used in various automotive environments. NEC also achieved QS-9000 certification for its worldwide manufacturing facilities to meet the quality requirements of the North American automotive industry.

"NEC's Automotive SBU is strategically located near our customer base in the central United States, yet close enough to our Santa Clara headquarters to take advantage of resources available throughout the entire company," said George Wang, general manager of the Automotive SBU. "We are strongly committed to the automotive industry and plan to significantly expand our presence in this market."

The new Automotive SBU, which officially opens April 1, also leverages NEC's worldwide resources with highly experienced staff in the U.S., Japan and Europe. "NEC is now able to provide the best in global support to all multinational automotive customers through the new Automotive SBU in the U.S., the Automotive Marketing and Applications Center in Germany, and two automotive divisions located inJapan," said Yasuda.

From what I understand, "application-specific microcontrollers for automotive systems" are difficult to get a hold of. This company has some of the leading technology in microcontrollers. I am eager to see if they expand.